


Come Fire, Flood, or Fate

by TJNewcastle



Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:40:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27488227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TJNewcastle/pseuds/TJNewcastle
Summary: Emma has just gotten used to her new job, a new city, and a new life in Philadelphia. She is doing well with her career, finally has a solid group of friends in the city, and has finally been able to settle into a routine she loves. That is, until a freak accident in the woods flips everything she knows on her head. The man responsible: a Benjamin Tallmadge, who she can't quite decide if he is who he says he is. Because that would mean time travel is real, and if so, if he's in the modern world, how's that affecting the Revolution?
Relationships: Benjamin Tallmadge/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 29
Kudos: 27





	1. Meet Me in the Woods

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! This is my first real attempt at writing a longer story. Hope you all like it!
> 
> (PS: All the chapter names are from my playlist for the fic, if you guys want to listen, let me know!)

It was just starting to be cold out, just barely. As she looked out onto the park path in front of her, Emma noticed the barely there fading of green into yellow in the trees around her. Wissahickon Valley Park never failed to disappoint this time of year, and the cool breeze blowing her hair from her face gave the promise of cooler weather and less humidity to come. She closed her eyes and leaned into the wind just a bit before deciding it was time to start her run back up again. _Why did I decide to start running again? What was that Parks and Rec quote? It keeps you healthy but god at what cost?_ Emma smiled to herself and shook her head as she turned onto the bridge away from the easier path to the rugged hiking trail on the opposite side of the creek. She tightened her ponytail, readjusted her hat and her earbuds, and took off into the trees. Skipping over the rocks and tree roots, she settled into a comfortable pace.

Luckily, not many people liked to hike on weekdays in the middle of the afternoon, especially with the weather like it was. The cloudy skies that loomed with rain about to drop was a natural deterrent for most, but Emma liked the way the gray augmented the colors of the park. _That water break was not long enough_ , Emma thought ten minutes later as she tripped on a rock. _I’ve got to stop, I can’t even pick my feet up anymore. Maybe running 6 miles on your second day back in the swing of things wasn’t the best idea._ She slowed to a walk and rested her hands lightly on her head, breathing heavily. _I am gonna be feeling this tomorrow._ Emma laughed under her breath before letting her arms fall to her sides. Deciding to walk the rest of her goal, she turned her music down and flipped to her fall playlist as a cool down. Trying not to think about her weekend at work, she imagined all the things she had time for over her 5 day weekend. _Thank God for working 12s instead of a 9-5, and for stacking shifts._ Throwing on her leggings and a t-shirt instead of her scrubs today was bliss. Her job was one of the best parts of her new life on the East Coast, but after three days of using her brain, she wanted a break. Running, well walking, gave her some time to decompress. Emma was pulled out of her thoughts with the familiar vibrating of her phone in her hand. Her mom was calling. With her brother finally back in school, Emma’s parents were once again empty nesters and liked to keep tabs on their kids.

“Hey Mom! What’s up?”

“Just getting ready for work and thought I’d give ya a call! Missed hearing from you yesterday.” Emma had, in fact, gotten home from the hospital and promptly fallen asleep, dinner completely forgotten about in the wave of exhaustion that hit her as she walked through her front door.

“Yeah sorry about that. I crashed pretty much right after I got home. Long day at work. What did you guys do yesterday?”

  
“Well, your dad finally decided to work on the gates that have needed fixing for the last six weeks so we could get the painters in to test colors. I am determined to live in this house for at least a year before we sell it with a new paint color on it. This brown/beige thing going on is not cutting it for me anymore.” Emma rolled her eyes in amusement as she answered.

  
“Wow dad ’s been slacking on the projects again? Remind me how many do you have going on at once?” Laughter from both sides of the conversation resonated in her ears as she continued along the trail.

“I bet they are going to look great! You still going with white?”

  
“Well, that’s what I want to happen, but have to see how it looks first. We also have to paint the brick, and Lord knows how much that is going to cost. I think we are just going to stick with the gates being painted first before we really decide on white. What are you doing today? Ow!!”  
Emma could hear sharp sound of air being sucked through teeth on the opposite end of the line.

  
“You good?”

  
“Yeah I’m fine, just hit my hand with the curling iron accidentally. Are you out and about?” The hissing of the sink being turned on echoed through the phone as Emma’s mom ran her hand under the cold water.

  
“Don’t pop the blister if it forms!”

“I know, I know.” Emma grinned.

  
“Yeah, I’m taking a bit of a hike at the moment in Wissahickon. You and Dad would be so jealous, it is absolutely gorgeous today!” Emma sucked in a large breath through her nose, the smells of almost fall flooding through her.

  
“I bet. Send pictures, I need something to think about while I’m out at your grandma’s weeding.”

  
“Lol, well, for once I’m glad I’m not home. Weeding is the once chore I can’t -“ A large crack sounded above her, and Emma’s soul nearly left her body with the shock of it. Too scared to make any noise, her breath caught in her lungs and sat there, hanging just under her ribcage like a knot. Debris from above the trail came crashing towards her, and she stared in terror at a mass that had appeared like a phantom had started sliding straight for her. She barely had time to process what was happening before the mass completely took her out. The phone flew from her hand as she was all but tackled over the edge of trail. _That phone better not crack_ , was the only thought in her head as she watched the object in question land squarely in the center of some stones she had nearly tripped over moments before, headphones looping gracefully bedside it. Her right hip slammed into the ground, her shoulder hitting the nearby tree directly afterwards. Emma was grasping onto the thing that hit her out of reflex, and a good thing too, because the thing turned out to be human, and the human looked like they had just come out of a war zone.

  
The tree that caught her shoulder had stopped their rather precarious fall into the creek below, and as the dust and leaves started to settle, quiet came over the forest again. A quiet that lasted about three seconds. Emma groaned as she leaned her head back in a moments pause; her shoulder was starting to throb where she hit the tree, and her hip would definitely be bruised for at least two weeks, but otherwise she didn’t think she was seriously hurt. Once certain she could, in fact, move, she looked down at the person slung over her legs, pinning her to the tree.  
He was facedown, but Emma saw that he had clearly seen better days. She took in everything: from his long, tawny hair in a disheveled mess, the string tying it into what was left of a plait literally hanging by a thread, to the state of his uniform _(what?)_ , which was covered in a mixture of mud, soot, and Is that… blood? She started as he began to stir, snatching her hands off of his jacket. Letting out a similar, painful noise to Emma’s, the man pushed himself successfully off of her legs and leaned back against the hillside, facing Emma. As he did this, Emma could clearly see the large bloodstain that was slowly creeping out from a sinister looking hole in the man’s shirt. He let out a large sigh and rested his head on the leaves, obviously feeling the effects of whatever had caused the wound. Emma moved as quickly as her hip would allow her to to get next to him to stop the bleeding that had worsened from his movement.

  
“Oh my God, Oh my God, are you okay?” Emma unzipped her jacket and shoved it onto the wound to try to stop the red that was saturating his left side. Once she had placed it and applied pressure, she reached to his right wrist to feel his pulse, where a reassuring, rhythmic beating against her fingers gave her an overwhelming sense of relief. At her touch, her patient jerked his hand away from her and reached across his torso in an attempt to grab something from his left side. His movement was blocked however, by Emma’s other arm, which was still applying a strong amount of pressure on the wound.

  
“Get off me!” He meant it as a shout but sounded strained. He reached for Emma’s busy hand again but was stopped when she pinned his other arm to the ground by his side, taking him by surprise.

  
“Stop, you’re going to make it worse.” Emma said this through gritted teeth as she struggled to keep hold on the situation. Her heart rate was slowly rising with both the effort she had to apply to his stomach and his arm, and the adrenaline that was kicking in. She finally looked up at the man’s face and found her stare was met with the bluest eyes she had seen, staring up at her with equal intensity.

  
“What are you doing?” He had an accent that she couldn’t quite place.

  
“Well, I am trying to stop you from bleeding out but you keep moving and messing up my pressure seal. Well, my makeshift seal. There’s only so much I can do with this we have to get you to a hospital.” She readjusted her wadded-up jacket, and applied more pressure to the wound. He down his chest to where Emma had placed her hand, taking in the situation he was in before looking back up to her. “Do you think you can hold this here for a sec? I need to get us help.” He was silent for a moment, studying her face. The moment seemed to hold a millennia in it for Emma before he nodded and placed both of his hands over the jacket now filled with blood. Once she was confident he was safe for the moment, she pushed herself off of her knees and onto her feet and moved as fast as she was able to her phone lying three feet from where she fell. As she moved closer to the phone, she could hear the frantic sounds of her mother calling her name and spewing false threats of what she would do if Emma didn’t answer her.

“Emma? Emma?! You need to answer me right now this isn’t funny. Emma, I am not kidding, I will call the police —.”

“Mom? Mom I’m okay —.” She was stopped by her mom screaming in her ear.

“OH MY GOD, Emma, honey, are you —.”“Mom, MOM!” She cut her mom off mid-sentence before her mother’s panic could exponentiate hers.

“I am fine, but the guy that just fell into me isn’t. I don’t have time to talk right now. I will call you as soon as I get him some help. Love you!” She hung up the phone without waiting for a reply and rushed back over to her patient. _Never off duty, huh?_ Emma thought to herself as she knelt back down beside him and dialed 911. One hand holding her phone to her ear, she reached with her other hand back to the blood-soaked jacket. She laid her hand down over his and felt a spark ripple through her spine. Emma didn’t dare look up to meet his eyes; she didn’t want to know his reaction at that moment. She tried to suppress the warmth that was turning into a blush when the operator answered.

“911, what is your emergency?” A soothing, feminine voice answered after the second ring.

“Hi, hello, my name is Emma Frost and I’m in Wissahickon Valley Park on the northern side just past the Valley Green Inn on the white trail towards devils pool. I am with someone who looks like he’s just been shot, I need an ambulance. I’m currently holding pressure on the wound but there’s a lot of blood. He’s awake, breathing, and answering my questions for the most part.” Emma felt like she was back at work, rattling report off during shift change. She could hear the quick typing of the operator on the opposite line as she described their situation.

“How old is this person?” Turning the microphone away from her mouth, Emma finally looked up at the man in question.

  
“How old are you?”

  
“Four and twenty years.” Internally, Emma was taken aback by his answer, and the manner in which he phrased it, outwardly, she kept her expression as professional as possible. Now that she was really looking, he was wearing a uniform, and it wasn’t modern. Even so, it was one that anyone would recognize: the uniform of an officer from the Continental Army.

  
“He’s twenty-four.” Confused even more with each passing second, and trying to piece together the last six minutes in a way that made even the slightest bit of sense, Emma almost missed the question the operator was asking.

“How far are you from the nearest road?” Emma looked out at the rest of the trail between the two of them and the parking lot with her car.

  
“Maybe 500 yards? It’s the one by the Valley Green Inn, north side.”

  
“Thank you, I have an ambulance heading your way.”

  
“Thank you so much!” Emma hung up the phone and shoved it in her pocket, still studying the situation. “What’s your name?” The two locked eyes for a moment before he answered, shifting his azure eyes as he did.

  
“Benjamin. Benjamin… Brewster.” The effort of even answering that question left him slightly breathless, as he tried to prop himself up slightly to get a better look at Emma. The blush Emma had suppressed was threatening to return from the look he was giving her, wary, but with a touch of softness behind it.

  
“Nice to meet you Benjamin, I’m Emma. Do you think you could walk?”


	2. The Cave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma searches for some semblance of sanity as her day off keeps getting curiouser and curiouser.

_What the fudge have I gotten myself into?_ Emma thought as she struggled to get Ben up the five feet of hill to the trail. Her earlier idea of hiking on days when no one else was around were haunting her, the irony not missed. His arm slung over her shoulders, they slipped and slid the last two steps onto the cleared path before Emma sat him down with a grunt of exertion, his back resting against a fallen tree. _God I need to work out. They weren’t kidding about leg day._ Ben rested his head back on the log, closing his eyes tightly. With him in a better position off the incline, and help definitely on the way, Emma started to fully assess this person who looked like they should be on stage or at a historical site, not clotheslining random women in the park. The uniform looked too accurate to be a costume, and it had to have been handmade because no clothing manufacturer made stuff like this. His hands had little white scars on them, and small bruises had started to bloom on his forehead, from the fall or something else she couldn’t tell just yet. _He’s got a nice face. Omg FOCUS, Em_.

“So, uh, what happened to you?” Emma asked, still keeping pressure with her jacket on the wound. _I’ve gotta keep him talking._ He opened his eyes and glanced over at her before answering.

“I was… I was just… I was ambushed by brigands.”

“Brigands huh? Do you remember what they looked like?”

“What?”

“What they looked like … for the police report?” She looked up at him before reaching again to find the soft, steady though fast, beat of a pulse on his wrist. “I didn’t know the park was filled with brigands.” Emma stated, wanting to coax some information out that would help her understand the weird situation she had found herself in. Literally anything would be useful at this point. Ben lifted his head at this, and turned his head towards Emma, a quizzical look on his face.

“Park?” Emma raised her eyebrow at his question.

“Umm, yeah? Wissahickon? In Philly?” At this, Ben’s expression changed to match Emma’s internal confusion.

“I’m in Philadelphia?” He tried to sit up straighter, forcing Emma to quickly shift her grip on the jacket to match his new position. Making an exasperated noise at this, she once again increased the amount of pressure on his torso.

“Yeah, where did you think you w—.” Emma stopped short as she shifted her balance on her knees from being on the ground for too long. In the process, her knuckles had brushed against something solid strapped to his side, and as she slid her gaze over, her stomach did a barrel-roll. _How did I not notice he had a gun??_ He must have seen the color draining from her face at the sight of it, because Ben lightly touched her hand. He opened his mouth to speak, but before any words could form, the sound of sirens and slamming of heavy doors sounded nearby. Ben and Emma looked at each other, the tension growing slightly as the footsteps of the EMT’s grew closer. Emma had to make a decision quickly, and none of the options looked good. Throwing the gun out meant her fingerprints would be on it, she couldn’t hide it well with the little time they had, and that was pending on the assumption that she trusted the guy in front of her. She could let him be found out and questioned and etc. Or…

“Is it loaded?” She mouthed and tipped her head towards the object in question. Without breaking their gaze, Ben shook his head. “Okay.” They held the stare for a moment longer, then Emma flipped her head down the trail behind her and shouted for the EMTs that became visible moments later. She slid the pistol under some leaves in the root system of the tree Ben was resting on, out of sight for the time being.

“We’re over here!” Not five seconds later, they were surrounded by a swarm of people. Ben was carefully moved over to the stretcher, and one of the EMT’s took over for Emma, holding pressure against the wound. Ben looked more confused with each new device pulled out, nearly ripping off the blood pressure cuff when it started to tighten around his upper arm. Emma lurched forward to stop him, gripping onto his hand that was trying to free him of the cuff.

“Stop.” She was surprised with how gentle the command sounded. He looked at her, his eyes softening at her gaze. She nodded at him as if to say “It’s going to be okay.” She could feel his hand start to return the pressure on hers, but before it could completely be reciprocated, the EMT’s picked up the stretcher, and Emma’s hand slipped off of Ben’s. They began walking to the ambulance waiting just over the last stretch of trail. Emma stood stock still, hands bloody, watching them for a moment before leaning down, grabbing her discarded headphones she threw down earlier and jogging to catch up. She reached them as they were loading Ben into the back of the vehicle. “Are you riding with us?” One of the medical professionals asked her as she looked Emma over. She handed Emma a towel to wipe the blood off of her hands.

“No, I’ll follow you in my car. What hospital are you heading to?”

“Chestnut Hill up the road.” The two doors on the back of the ambulance slammed shut, making Emma jump just slightly. She looked over at the truck, wondering what the next few hours held for her and for Ben, absentmindedly rubbing her hands on the towel. As the white turned to red, she had the strangest memory of Lady Macbeth scrubbing her hands clean. Emma handed the now filthy towel back into the outstretched hand of the EMT.

“Meet you in the Emergency room.” The woman nodded, and turned to climb into the drivers seat. As the sirens and lights flipped on, Emma quickly made her way over to her car, unlocking it and sliding into her seat. She placed her hands on the wheel, gripping it tightly as she tilted her head back and sucked a long breath in. After she turned the car on, she looked in her rearview mirror as the ambulance drove up the road and around the corner. Once the last of the bumper was out of sight, she launched herself out of the car, and ran back up the path to where the gun was stashed. Picking it up gingerly, she held it by her side as she ran back to the car. Emma popped open the truck and wrapped it inside the thick blanket she kept in the car for emergencies. And this definitely counts as one. Slamming the trunk shut, she jogged to the drivers seat and spun out of the park, after the ambulance. Emma pulled into the emergency room parking lot, breathless even though she had stopped her run a full 20 minutes ago. With one more deep breath, her mind on the firearm she had stashed in the trunk, she opened the door and pulled herself out of the Passat. Emma walked through the automatic doors into the emergency waiting room, the smell of antiseptic and latex perforating the air. Walking briskly to the front desk, Emma was suddenly very aware of the dried blood under her fingernails and the smears still faintly visible on her arms.

“Hi, my name is Emma Frost, I am with the ambulance that brought in Benjamin Brewster. I drove separately.” The clerk at the front looked Emma over skeptically as she typed Emma’s information into the computer.

“What is your relationship to the patient?” Emma panicked for a moment. _What am I supposed to say? I barely know the guy. We aren’t friends, but there’s no way I am hiding a gun and saving a life without knowing how this ends._ She opened her mouth to respond, but hesitated before answering.

“Oh, um, just acquaintances. I just want to make sure he’s okay, he was banged up pretty badly.” Luckily the clerk didn’t register her moment’s hesitation, just kept typing away. Emma stood awkwardly waiting for any other questions the woman may have, the sounds of an emergency waiting room filling the silence for her. “…Is he okay? Can you tell me that without breaking HIPPA?” The clerk looked up at her over the top of the monitor.

“He’s in sedation at the moment. I’ll let the team know you’re here. Please have a seat and fill out these forms.” A mixture of relief and worry washed over Emma, as the clerk handed her paperwork and pushed away from her desk to head into the patient care section of the ER. Emma turned on her heel, arms crossed, and began to look for an empty seat. Once located, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and opened up Messenger to let her mom know what was going on. She is probably flipping out right now.

Emma: Hey! Just got to the hospital. I am totally okay, my shoulder hit a tree pretty hard but otherwise I am good. Someone fell into me on the trail and I think he got shot— Emma looked at the line of text she had written for a moment and imagined her mom’s reaction to the last word. The image of her mom frantically buying a plane ticket while simultaneously banning her from ever going on a hike again made her quickly delete the last few words.

Emma: Someone fell on to me on the trail and was bleeding quite a bit. Had to call 911 for an ambulance to help me. At the hospital now in the ED waiting for some news on what’s going on. She reread her text three times before hitting send. She looked around the waiting room, biting her lower lip as the shadows of anxiety started to appear, before turning her attention back to her phone. She could see the little typing bubbles of her mom responding in the corner of the screen as she absentmindedly filled out the form the clerk had given her.

Emma: I PROMISE I am fine.

Mom: EMMA! You CANNOT scare me like that EVER. I am debating on whether or not to get plane tickets to come over there. This is EXACTLY why I don’t like it when you hike alone. Are you sure you are okay?

Emma: I am fine, Mom, I promise. And I love you, and I know you are just saying that because you are worried about me hiking by myself, but it’s not like I planned for this to happen. I make sure that I’m being as safe as I can— Emma’s typing was stopped by an incoming phone call from her Mom. Emma ran a hand over her forehead in resignation before clicking the green “answer call” button and braced herself for the argument that was about to start.

“Hi Mom.”

“Emma, you can’t do that to me again. I swear you gave me a fucking heart attack! Are you sure you are okay??” Emma looked around the room to make sure no-one was looking at her for being on her phone before standing and walking over to a more deserted section of the waiting room. As she approached the corner of the building, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window to the outside. Pieces of her dark blonde hair had escaped her ponytail and hung around her face wildly, and while she got most of it off of her hands, the blood stain on her shirt was plainly in view. She looked a mess. _No wonder the clerk was looking at me funny. I look like a horror movie character._

“Mom, I am fine. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I bring the pepper spray you gave me on all my hikes, and I play everything as safe as I can. I’m sorry that you are so worried, but I promise I am okay. I’m just worried about the guy that fell into me. I’m at the waiting room right now making sure he’s okay.”

“Do you know this person at all?” Apparently, the phone call was on speaker at her childhood home, because Emma heard the stern voice of her father appear on the call.

“Hey Dad. No I don’t know this person —“ But I have his gun stashed in the back of my car.

“You guys, I am okay, okay? Please don’t feel like you need to come out here for me. I think I’m going to stick to the Forbidden Drive side of Wissahickon for a little while though.” She tried to throw in a little humor to lighten the mood, which was met with a deafening silence from the other end of the line. “I’m really sorry to worry you guys. I love you both very much and I know you don’t really like that I am this far away from you—“

“For exactly this reason! I can’t be there in an hour, not even the time it took for me to get to your college. It would take us a whole day to get out there if you were hurt!”

“Mom, I know. I do have people here that can take care of me until you got here though. Not trying to invalidate your point, but I’m not alone out here.” She could feel the tension on the other end of the line building. She was about to try to diffuse the unease on the line, when a nurse walked into the room.

“Emma Frost?” Emma turned towards the sound of the voice and waved as she began to head over to meet the nurse.

“Guys, I’ve got to go, the nurse is calling me back. I love you both very much. I am really sorry about what happened, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Emma met the nurse at the door to the ER after handing over the completed paperwork to the clerk at the front desk. “Is everything okay?”

“He is doing great. He responded well to sedation. It was a quick and easy stitch up, looks like the bullet through him cleanly, and he got some blood to compensate for what he lost. He’s in recovery at the moment. We want to keep him here for a few more hours for monitoring.” The nurse gave Emma a smile as she told her the good news. Emma released a breath of relief with a small smile of her own.

“That’s amazing. Thank you so much! I’m so glad he’s going to be okay.”

“State covers his costs because he doesn’t seem to have any insurance. Quite frankly, we are keeping him based on his mental state as well. He seems to think he’s from, well, from the 1700s?” The nurse looked quizzically at Emma at this, searching for some form of explanation. Emma felt her heartbeat rising once again. _I’m gonna regret this aren’t I?_

“Oh yeah, he’s a method actor. Doesn’t like breaking character. I think there’s a thing out at Valley Forge within the next few weeks?” The answer seemed to satisfy the nurse for the moment. Emma could practically hear her thoughts of “I am so happy he’s not a crazy person,” so clearly it was as if she said them out loud.

“Oh!” The nurse, Linda as her badge said, laughed.

“That makes sense, haha.” She started to turn and walk back to the patient care rooms, using her shoulder to open the door once she badged in. Emma paused for a moment before heading out the entrance to her car. _I am going to take the longest, hottest shower when I get home after this._

Two hours later, one very hot shower and a glass of wine later, Emma felt like she had finally started to wrap her head around the events of the day. She had, once again, called her parents and reassured them everything was fine. With a lot of effort, she had convinced them they did not need to book a flight to Philly, and compromised with texting them before she went on her next hike. _Which won’t be for a long time after this._ Currently swaddled in the extra comforter she had stashed in the apartment, Emma cracked open one of her books to take her mind off things. That is until her phone started to ring.

“Hello?”

“Hi this is Chestnut Hill hospital, is this Emma Frost?” _Oh, Jesus Christ, what now?_

“Speaking.”

“Yes, Benjamin Brewster has been cleared for discharge, can you please come and pick him up?” Emma shot out of her seat at this, nearly falling, for the third time that day, from stepping on the comforter wrong.

“I’m sorry?” On the other end of the line, Emma could hear pages rustling as they were flipped over.

“He has you listed at his emergency contact. We have your phone number from the sheet you filled out at the ER.” _His EMERGENCY CONTACT?_ Emma pinched the bridge of her nose, thinking about her next move. She couldn’t just leave him to fend for himself on the street after his injury, but he might, just possibly, be losing his mind. She weighed the outcomes of both scenarios as quickly as she could. _You also still have his gun in your car_. Emma sat back down in a huff and rested her head back on her couch. _Shit._

“Yes, I’ll be there in 10 minutes.” _Mom and dad don’t have to know about this._ Emma raced around her apartment, throwing on a jacket and her tennis shoes, hair still drying around her shoulders, and flung her purse over her shoulders as she hustled out her front door. True to her word, she pulled into the parking lot 10 minutes later on the nose. She drove her car to the loading area and hopped out of the car, just as they were wheeling Ben out in a wheelchair. He looked less pale but still just as confused as when they first met, but when his eyes found hers, his expression brightened just a hare. Emma lips turned up in one corner in a halfhearted smile as she walked around the front of the car and opened up the passenger door.

“You look better.” She commented as she and the nurse helped to steady him as he transferred himself to the seat.

“I feel better, thanks to you. And thank you, for your help as well.” He bowed his head towards the nurse, who blushed, gave a small wave and headed back inside, wheelchair in tow.

“Watch your arm.” Emma warned as she shut the door as gently as possible, shoving his uniform in the backseat. She slid into the drivers seat and pulled on her seatbelt, looked up and saw Ben attempting to do the same with his one-handed, and failing spectacularly. “Here, let me help you with that.” Emma reached across him and pulled the seatbelt across his chest, clicking it into its holder, fully aware of her proximity to him. She could sense he was also aware of this, and saw his chest tighten as he held his breath. “There.” Moving away from the awkward moment, Emma put the car in drive and started home. The drive home was silent and after some difficulty maneuvering the elevator to her fourth floor apartment, Ben was seated on the couch, water and toast in hand. Emma sat herself opposite of the soldier, an expectant expression on her face.

“So, you going to tell me what the hell is going on here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks so much for being patient with me on the update. I was moving to a new apartment last week and needed to get settled before I posted. Also, I promise we will be seeing more of Ben in the next chapter! :)


	3. Peer Pressure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Ben are now back at her place and attempt to find even ground as well as a game plan for what the next few days have in store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Once again, so sorry for the wait on the update, life is wild and keeps getting weirder both in the fic and in real life. Just gotta say that even though this story is set in 2020, this is an AU where COVID doesn't exist. coping mechanisms am I right? Hoping that the next chapter will be up by Friday, so stay tuned. Enjoy! :)

Ben looked at Emma over his slice toast, chewing the bite he had taken. She noticed how he sat with almost perfect posture, the plate and silverware almost meticulously placed on the table in front of him. Ben swallowed the mouthful and placed the remainder of the slice on his plate.

“I’m sorry?” He genuinely looked puzzled by her question. Emma’s fuse was getting shorter and shorter by the minute, and she normally prided herself on how patient she could be. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, as her eyebrows shot up in bewilderment.

“You tackle me in the woods, which you probably couldn’t help as you were _shot_ , you almost bled out, I had to stash the gun you own that looks spectacularly time period accurate for the 18th century in the back of my car, _which is still there,_ and then put me as your emergency contact at the hospital, pretty much forcing me to pick you up?? Don’t you have anyone else you can call?” In the middle of her tirade, Emma had uncrossed her arms and was using them to emphasize her frustration in the situation. With every new point made, Ben was clearly becoming more affronted at her accusation this was his fault.

“Thank you for aiding me in the forest. I do not mean to be an imposition to you or your family. To answer your question, I do not have any connections in Philadelphia I can call on.”

At the mention of her family, Emma became quite confused.

“My family?” She asked. _They don’t live here, what is he talking about, I live in a one bedroom loft, there’s not enough room for too many more._ Ben furrowed his brow and tipped his head in her direction.

“Yes, I do not mean to cause trouble between you and your husband —“

“My _husband?”_ Emma took a quick look down at her hands to make sure she didn’t accidentally put on a ring today as she leaned forward, literally at the edge of her seat. She could sense her heartbeat slowly rising in tandem with her temper, the heat of anger mixed with a twinge of excitement starting to flare in her stomach. Ben had completely abandoned his snack and now sat turned towards Emma, head cocked quizzically, his blue eyes searching hers for an answer. Emma could almost see the gears turning over themselves in his head.

“Are you not married?”

“No, I’m not.” At this, Emma could see genuine shock and a hint of embarrassment flicker across his face as the statement hung in the air. _Does it look like I’m married?_ She tightened her grip on her arms, now crossed again. _Wait, should I have lied? That might have been the safer option._ The room fell into a charged silence, each waiting for the other to say something. Emma was used to uncomfortable silences; she dealt with them frequently as a nurse, waiting for parents or patients to respond to a question or unsettling news. This, however, was a different story. He had, without much push-back from her, upended her entire week, if not life, and she wanted answers. They held each others gaze from across the room, until the awkward tension became a bit too much. Breaking his stare and the silence, Ben glanced around the room before meeting Emma’s expectant face.

“I apologize for overstepping. I assumed you would be, married that is.” _What the hell does that mean?_ Sucking in a deep breath, Emma leaned forward and ran her hands through her hair.

“It’s fine.” After a moment longer, she stood and walked over to her kitchen to grab herself a glass of water. _God, if you're up there, can you skip the wine and turn this into liquor please? I’m gonna need some help of the alcoholic kind to deal with this._ She filled her glass and turned back to where Ben was sitting, studying the room. Emma leaned back on the counter, taking a long sip of her water, unsure of where to go from here. She finally settled on getting him in contact with someone who could help. Her stress levels were already through the roof, and it was starting to get dark outside. She really didn’t want to have him stay the night, but didn’t feel entirely right about turning him out to the elements. “You’re more than welcome to use my phone if you need to call someone to come and get you. Or I could drive you someplace too.” She took another swig from her glass, eyeing him over the rim, as he looked back towards her.

“Phone? …I’m sorry, I don’t know what that is.” Emma lowered her glass, eyes narrowing slightly.

“You know, you can cut the theatrics now. We got you through the hospital without a glitch, the gun is safe, and you’ve succeeded in protecting whoever shot you so congrats on that. The method acting thing is getting kinda old.”

“What are you talking about? Theatrics?” He shifted in his seat, wincing as he did so.

“Yeah the whole, I’m from the 1700s stuff. You aren’t in trouble, and the docs think you just have a mild concussion so you have a cover story, you can stop now.” Every sentence Emma was saying was visibly upsetting Ben. Both adults were getting heated again, Ben’s lilting accent becoming more evident as the argument progressed. He was dangerously close to the edge of the couch, and Emma could tell he was about seconds away from attempting to stand. She was torn between her frustration over his stubbornness, and her concern for his wellbeing.

“Cover story? Who do you think I am? I am not _acting—.”_

“What year do you think this is?” Dead silence. Well, almost. The muffled sounds of Emma’s downstairs neighbors hollering over, presumably, a video game were the only noises that could be heard as the two faced off on opposite sides of the apartment. Ben’s lips parted as he started to speak, then hardened into a line again. Emma set her glass down on the counter and stepped forward, arms once again crossed in front of her. She made a mental tally of where her pepper spray wasand how many other found weapons she could use in the house before prompting him to answer. “Well??”

Ben’s gaze hardened at this, but he answered.

“I. Don’t. Know.” Emma didn’t move for a moment. _Maybe I should call the docs back, his concussion might be worse than they thought._ She moved to take her phone out of her pocket. “Before I met you, the year was seventeen-hundred and seventy seven.” Emma threw her head back in exasperation. _Why is this happening to me?_ She pinched the bridge of her nose and shut her eyes tight before responding.

“You mean to tell me, you are from 1777, and you used _time-travel_ , in real life, and ended up in 2020. Is your name even Benjamin, or is that just something you made up for the story?” Opening her eyes, she let go of her nose and shook her head. “Are you sure you’re okay? I think I should call the hospital back.” At this, Ben really did try to stand. He pushed himself up using the table to stabilize himself. Emma could tell it hurt, badly, to move as she watched him wobble in place, attempting to keep his balance. She rushed around the corner from her safe place in the kitchen to help steady him.

“No, I’m fine.” He tried to wave her off, upsetting his balance even more. Emma reached him as he almost lost his bearings completely. She caught him by the elbow and repositioned herself so that her right hand was on his back, steadying him. The electric shock she felt the first time they touched in the park was back, and her breathing hitched just slightly as she helped Ben sit back down. He was breathing hard from exertion, but Emma thought that there was a slight pause in his rhythm as her hands reached around him too. _Emma don’t be ridiculous, he’s probably just not feeling well. That had_ nothing _to do with you._

She reached into her pocket to grab her phone and flipped the flashlight on, feeling the apprehension from her patient at the sudden appearance of light. She knelt down next to him, her left hand still barely touching his arm on the arm of the couch.

“I’m just going to shine this in your eyes for a second okay? Just checking to make sure your concussion isn’t getting worse.” He nodded, blue eyes not leaving hers for a second. She shined the light into each eye slowly, watching for the subtle constriction of pupils, their faces mere inches apart. Yet again, Emma could sense the heat start in her cheeks, and felt as if she was going red all over, forcing her to break eye contact before she turned into a human tomato. Glancing down at her phone after confirming he was neurologically stable, she met his eyes once again. “Looks great.” Rocking back from her heels, she sat down on the floor next to the couch, her hands circling one knee, the exhaustion of the day catching up with her again. “…Are you sure there’s no one you can stay with in the city?” Ben hadn’t stopped looking at her since she steadied him. He shook his head slightly.

“No one.” Damn. _I can’t just let him loose on the neighborhood like this, he’s obviously not in good shape, at least with the whole perceived time travel/gun-shot wound thing he’s got going on._ Emma pursed her lips in thought. _Plus, it’s not like he can really move without me knowing, so I’m pretty sure I could at least defend myself if he’s crazy. Wait, what am I_ doing _??? This is a dumb decision, and you_ know _it, Em._

“I guess you can stay here for the night, but _just_ for tonight, okay? Tomorrow we can tackle the what century it really is issue, and finding you a place to stay.” It was right then that he smiled, just a small one, but so genuine that Emma unconsciously smiled back at him. She tried to kick the thoughts back in her brain that she was actually kind of relieved that he was staying too.

“Thank you, Miss Frost. And not just for letting me stay, but for… saving my life today. I don’t know how to thank you enough for that.” She looked down at her feet to avoid meeting his eyes.

“No worries, um,” Emma placed one hand on the floor and moved to stand, noticing he was trying to follow suit. She motioned for him to stay seated as she pushed herself off of the floor. “I’ll just go grab you a pillow, you can use that comforter if you want, I have other blankets if you get cold. I like to keep it cooler in here when I sleep. Um…I think I still have some old t-shirts and a pair of sweats of my ex’s you can borrow for pj’s. Hang on one sec.” Emma turned to head up the stairs into the loft where she kept all of her extra stuff. She had climbed three of the steep steps when he spoke again.

“My name _is_ Benjamin, but my last name isn’t Brewster. It’s Tallmadge. I’m sorry I lied to you.” Emma stopped in her ascent up the stairs for a moment, biting the inside of her lower lip. She took the hundredth deep breath of the day before continuing up the stairs and rummaging around, looking for the items she mentioned. Once said items were in hand, she made her way, carefully, back down the steps to where Ben was awaiting her response.

“It’s fine. Just… no more surprises tonight, okay Benjamin?” She handed him the pillow and pj’s, a thin-lipped, but good-natured smile on her face.

“Of course. No more surprises.” She turned to walk back into her room. “Miss Frost?” Emma glanced back, hand resting on the door frame. “You can call me Ben.”


	4. Ancient Mars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma's belief that time travel isn't possible starts to have cracks. She and Ben take a field trip where Ben learns the importance of Boyle's Law. Plus, Emma may be harboring a slight crush on her couch-crasher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Hello! So sorry this wasn't up last Friday! I was called in to work over the weekend and didn't have as much time as I thought to write this. Really hope you are all enjoying this story! I can't wait to dig more into Ben's past in the coming chapters! (Emma can't wait either lol).

She didn’t know when she fell asleep, but Emma woke up to the sun shining on her face, still clutching the baseball bat she brought with her to bed as a fail-safe. Still somewhat groggy, it took her a moment to remember why the bat was there in the first place.

 _Ben_. Emma shot up in bed, hands now clenched around the middle of the bat. The apartment was silent in the mid morning light, no indication of her guest being awake. One foot out of the covers, then two, her feet hit the ground as she started to tip-toe her way around the bed, careful not to step on any loose floorboards. Moving one of the curtains separating her room from the rest of her home with the bat, Emma peered down its length into the living room.

Ben was passed out on her couch, one hand on his chest, the other resting by his side. His head was turned towards her, so that she could clearly see his face. He looked… untroubled in sleep, peaceful. Stepping into the doorframe, Emma leaned against the opening, studying the scene before her. _He already looks a lot better. I wonder when the last time he had a decent nights sleep was, he’s totally out!_ She stayed in the doorway for a moment longer, wringing the bat in her hands nervously before turning back into her room, the curtain swinging shut behind her. Emma reached for her phone resting on her bedside table, and crept into the bathroom as fast as she could without making sound, leaning the bat up against the wall.

With the door locked, she sat on the ledge of the bathtub and opened her web browser, tapped open the search bar, and typed in “Benjamin Tallmadge,” but paused before hitting go. Emma bit her lower lip. _Do I really want to do this?_ Her thumbs moved away from the screen in hesitation as she questioned her options. _This is the kind of lurking that’s gonna get you hurt. Like with Ryan._ The image of her ex and his new girlfriend on a beach somewhere flooded her mind before she could stop it.

Emma felt the familiar pang in her chest that hadn’t dimmed since he left. Covering her mouth with her hand in an effort to get a grip, she pushed the image into the back of her mind. _Problem for later Em, problem for later._ She looked at the name at the top of the screen until it blurred. Then pushed “search.”

The results popped up almost instantly, and Emma poured over every link. _Former US representative, from New York, married …twice, wow lots of siblings. Ah, Wikipedia. Here we go. Okay._ She scrolled past the title and settled into research mode. She fiddled with her lower lip as she started to read, stopping in shock only two lines into the article. “ _He was an American military officer, spymaster, and politician… known for his service as an officer in the Continental Army… Culper spy ring?” What the f—._ Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the couch creaking and a groan of pain. Her head snapped towards the noise and Emma stood and unlocked the door, walking out into the hallway. She shoved her phone in her pants pocket, turned the corner and stopped in surprise. Ben was up and off the couch and had made it to the kitchen table, leaning heavily on it for support. The calm expression of sleep had vanished, the one that replaced it was full of stubborn determination mixed with obvious pain from his wound. His hair had completely fallen out of the plait, hanging around his face in a mop that looked considerably similiar to Emma’s at the moment. He was about to take another step forward and tripped, catching himself just before he would have been on the jumbled mess on the floor.

“Hey, hey, slow down there.” Emma lurched forward to help from her post at the corner. She helped him into one of the chairs, looking him over quickly. “I’m going to just take a quick look at your dressing, okay?” He nodded, not in any state to answer verbally. She lifted up the bottom of the novelty Yosemite t-shirt, and double checked that there was no new bleeding and the tegaderm holding the gauze in place wasn’t coming up. She reached out to check the borders, but was stopped with Ben jumping backwards in his seat at her touch. Emma smiled shyly, allowing him time to regain his composure. “Sorry, cold hands. That needs to stay on for another day, then we can take it off,” gesturing to the pink tinged gauze. She let the shirt fall back into place, walking over and falling into the chair opposite. She rubbed the fingers of her right hand together, trying to offset the moment before.

Ben nodded his head in acknowledgement, pushing his hair away from his face, then preceding to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

“Good morning, Miss Frost. I apologize if I woke you this morning.” He was back to near perfect posture, and Emma became acutely aware of her slouching in her seat. She slowly adjusted her stance in the chair, not wanting to be perceived as improper.

“No worries, I was already awake.” She stood and rounded her chair. “Do you want breakfast, you didn’t have much to eat yesterday and you lost a lot of blood even with the transfusion.” Ben met her eyes, looking as sheepish as Emma felt. _Thank God I can at least fake confidence_.

“Thank you, yes please.” Again with the slight bow of the head. “ _Officer in the Continental Army.”_

“One con— breakfast coming right up.” _Emma, I can’t_ believe _you almost freudian slipped continental breakfast. Jesus._ She turned and walked towards the kitchen and opened the fridge, the cold air hitting her face.

“Okay, looks like we can do toast, some bacon, and eggs. I also have pancake mix so we can have those too if you want.” Peering into the fridge, Emma noticed how desolate the shelves looked. _I need to go shopping, like, today._ She turned back to Ben, who was craning his neck over the counter to see what she was doing. When he noticed her looking at him, waiting for an answer, he switched his expression to one of obviously forced casualness.

“Oh, um, the toast will be fine.”

“Cool.” Emma grabbed all of her ingredients out of the fridge, popping two slices of bread in the toaster, before turning to start the coffee. “Um, how do you like your eggs? I can do scrambled, fried, boiled—“

“Scrambled please, thank you.” Emma noticed something shift in his voice, her back still to him as she flipped the coffee machine on. _Okay, kinda weird, but whatever._ She took in a deep breath, inhaling the smell of coffee just starting to permeate the air.

“Scrambled it is. Looks like we actually have to nix the bacon, not enough for, well, either of us really.” She flipped on the gas stove, slapping a chunk of butter in a pan to melt. As it started to cover the bottom of the pan, she filled a glass of water and made her way back to the kitchen table. “Sleep well? Here, drink this.” Emma placed the glass in front of him before she slid back behind the curtain into her room. She made her way over to the far bedside table and rummaged in the drawer in search of ibuprofen. Finding her prize, she shook out two tablets from the bottle and made her way back to Ben.

“Yes, thank you. To be honest, I don’t remember even falling asleep. Thank you, again, for all that you’ve done. I don’t know how to repay you.” She placed the tablets in front of him, the two red pills sitting in stark contrast with the blue placemat.

“Oh, uh, don’t, don’t worry about it. I’m really glad you’re okay.” Their eyes met briefly before Emma turned, back to the unfinished breakfast fixings in the kitchen and away from another almost moment. “You should take those, it’ll help with the pain.” She watched as he picked one tablet up and studied it, as she beat the eggs and poured them into the pan. “It’s just ibuprofen. Hopefully the hospital gave you a prescription for something a little stronger, just in case you need it.” He continued to scrutinize the pill, rolling it between his fingers. “It works better if you swallow it.” Ben looked over at Emma, flipping the eggs in the pan, a teasing smile on her face. Giving a small grin and a single, breathy laugh in return, he turned to pick up the water next to him.

“Right.” He put the tablets into his mouth, and took a swig of water, nearly choking on it when the bread popped out of the toaster. Emma snorted and tried halfheartedly to conceal it, covering her grin with her hand.

“Sorry, just the toaster! Gets me every time.” The eggs were finished cooking. Emma slid them onto the two plates on the counter, making sure he got just a little more. _God knows he needs the protein._ The two slices of toast hit the plates with a satisfying plop, and Emma carried the plates to the table, going back for the two mugs of coffee, silverware, making a third trip for her favorite strawberry jam.

“So Ben, where’re you from?” Emma sat, one leg curled under her as she smothered her piece of toast with jam. She took a bite, eyeing him expectantly. He looked up from the spread before him and met her gaze. Far from the genial smirk he had sent her five minutes ago, he now wore an expression dangerously close to stern.

“Connecticut, Miss Frost. I was a teacher there.” _Okay, Connecticut and a teacher. Add that to the list of things we are cross referencing with as many books I can find._

“Oh? What subject?” His eyebrows furrowed.

“Subject?”

“Yeah, you know history, math, P.E?” Further confusion from Ben, and quite honestly from Emma too. The silence was only broken by the scraping of utensils on plates.

“Where are _you_ from?” Ben asked. Emma swallowed the mouthful of coffee she had just taken, before answering.

“Washington.” She said it matter-of factly, but that didn’t quell the reaction her answer got from Ben.

“You’re from Washington??” The morning had changed from a calm, if weird, morning, to a completely charged room. Emma had no idea why this would have shocked him so much. _Maybe it’s because I don’t have the Eastern accent yet?_

“Oh! Sorry, state, not D.C., I’m a west-coaster.” She took a bite of toast thinking this would solve the issue, but the shocked expression on Ben’s face remained where it was. _Dude, come on. We are not still on the time travel thing._ Emma set her toast down on the plate with annoyance and rubbed her forehead. “What.” It came out as a statement, and a bit more harsh than intended. Propping her head up on her hand, she met his eyes. _God damn, he is attractive._

“Washington state? Are you— are you saying we won?”

“Oh Jesus, yes we won, 200 years ago. That’s why I have a clock in my living room that says ‘American Farmhouse, 1776.’ Please tell me we are going to drop the 1700s facade soon.”

“It is _not_ a facade, Miss Frost. I do not know of a way to convince you that I am telling you the truth. I am just as confused as you are, and as you clearly do not trust me—“

“Of course I don’t trust you! This whole situation is just too weird!” Emma stood and whirled around behind her chair, the object giving her a small sense of security between the two of them. She mentally picked out the easiest way to get to the bat and the door. Ben made a motion to stand when she sprung out of her seat, but his wound stopped him three seconds into the motion.

 _I have_ got _to get out of this house for a second, but I can’t just leave him here, alone, to rummage through all of my stuff._ Emma rubbed her forehead for the hundredth time that day, then looked up at her guest across the table, looking worried. She drew a deep breath in a signed in a resigned way.

“I need to head to the store, but I don’t want you to be here by yourself while you are dealing with that.” She motioned towards his injury, Ben glancing down at his side. “Want to come with me?”

“I would be happy to accompany you, Miss Frost.”

“…Great. You need to change out of the pjs though.” She headed back up to her loft to rummage through her ex’s old clothes again. When she came back down to the living room, she was met with Ben, back in the breeches he was wearing when they had first met. _Oh sweet Jesus._ “Umm, actually it might be better if you just put these jeans on.” He looked up at her slightly embarrassed expression, then took the jeans and shirt out her heads. “You can, uh, change in here, I’ll just be in the bathroom.” The last two words sounded a little rushed as she hurried into the room in question.

Once again in the bathroom, Emma finally managed to brush out all of the tangles in her hair. She hastily put on some blush and mascara, wanting to look at least a little put together. Clipping her signature ‘E’ necklace behind her neck, she stared at her reflection in the mirror for a moment. _Not half bad._ Emma smoothed her hair down one last time before opening the door and heading into her room to throw on a pair of jeans herself and a sweater, the late October air waiting for them outside a few degrees colder than yesterday. She grabbed her bag and pushed the curtain aside, Ben standing by the table again, but this time looking, well, really good. The jeans and grey shirt Emma had given him fit almost perfectly, his hair now in a tidied plait down his back. Emma struggled for a second, figuring out what to say next as she tried to walk past without staring. _Okay, we get it Em, he looks good in both the uniform and in street clothes, get it together._

“Did the ibuprofen help a little?”

“Yes, it did, thank you. What is it?” Ben slipped the leather jacket on that she passed to him.

“Oh it’s just a pain killer and helps with fevers too. Kind of like Tylenol.” She unlocked the door to the hallway and stepped out, letting Ben follow her through before locking the door behind her. They made their way to the elevator down the hall, Emma wondering if this ride would be any less exciting than yesterday’s. The sharp image of Ben adjusting to the strange feeling of ascension was fresh in her mind, particularly the part when he gripped Emma’s wrist so tightly, while pulling her protectively behind him, that she swore she heard her joints pop.

“Are you sure this is Philadelphia?” Emma pulled herself out of her head to see Ben peering out of the window towards center city. She could just see the top of the Comcast tower through the branches of the trees.

“Yeah, we _are_ a little outside the main section of the city, probably why it looks a little weird from here.”

“It looks a lot different than what I remember.” _Right._ The elevator doors opened with a small ‘ping!’ And Emma started for the door, placing her hand briefly on his arm to let him know it was time to go.

“You ready for this elevator ride?” They stood inside the elevator, side by side.

“If it’s anything like yesterday, I certainly hope so.”

—————————————————————————————————————————-

“Okay — no— just, just pull it across you and click it into this part.” _This is going well._ Emma un-clicked her seat-belt and showed him again. She was trying to decide whether to laugh or sigh in frustration, Ben wasn’t having much luck with the seatbelt. The strap of nylon wouldn’t pull out of its resting place on the seat, locking up when he tugged on it, then the actual task of putting it into the buckle was another struggle. With a satisfactory ‘click,’ the buckle finally stayed in the clasp. She gave a little “whoop” in celebration; the previous ten tries had Emma almost quoting “No the _lid,_ Patrick.” With both of them finally, buckled in, Emma started the car, and pulled out of the lot.

“What are all these for?” He gestured to the buttons on the dash. _Alright, still on the time travel thing. I’ll play along just to keep the peace for now._

“Well, that one is the radio, this one plays music from my phone, this is just settings, I really only use that for daylight savings time stuff,” Emma smirked, “well, sometimes not even then, I just add or subtract an hour depending on the season.” She turned and looked at Ben, who looked just as confused as with the seatbelt. Emma swung her head back to the road, a certain quote from Riley Poole flitting through her head.

“The radio?”

“Yeah, just, like, songs and some talk shows and stuff. Here.” She reached over and hit the button and the car was instantaneously filled with the melodic vocals of Billy Ray Cyrus and Lil NasX. The sound permeated the car and Emma and Ben sat in the moment for a second, before Ben turned to Emma.

“Is this… the only thing we can listen to?” Obviously trying to be tactful, Ben struggled to word his question. Emma grinned slightly, and flipped the channel. They went through every station in the Philadelphia/Camden area, each one not meeting the, apparently high, standards of Ben. Emma’s particular favorite was Ben’s apparent introduction to Cardi B. She had never seen someone react that violently to a song before, his abrupt movements made her jump so badly she almost swerved into a parked car on the side of the road.

“What kind of music _is_ this?”

“It’s fun! You know, they play it in dance clubs and frat parties and stuff.”

“Do you mean in something like a tavern or bar?”

“Yeah, they play stuff like that in a bar too, maybe not a tavern but I haven’t been to oneI’d classify as a tavern in maybe a year.” Emma pulled into the ShopRite lot and parked. Only took one try for Ben to get out of his seatbelt, an improvement from the lesson this morning. While Ben was taking his time stepping out of the car, Emma jogged over to get a cart. She met him at the passenger side door, just as he was pushing it closed.

“Here, you still look a little unsteady on your feet, this will help you have something to lean on.”

“Oh no, I’m perfectly fine.” At his attempt to wave away the cart, Emma arched a disapproving eyebrow. Ben seemed to realize he wasn’t going to win this argument and accepted the offer, earning a small smile from Emma. _Stubborn, isn’t he._ They took the walk into the store slow, Emma taking a slight lead. They walked through the front doors and Ben’s face filled with wonder at the array of food before them.

“Okay, I’m gonna run and grab some bread and cheese over here, could you snag some bananas and lettuce? I’ll meet you over there.” Emma pointed towards the produce section as she strided over to the bakery. She heard the squeaky sound of the cart fade as Ben headed over to get what she asked. Picking up two loaves of whole wheat, she walked over to the cheese fridge and selected her favorite Tillamook cheddar from back home. As she straightened up from her hunt for the cheddar, Emma peered over the top of the fridge at Ben.

 _Why did he only grab two bananas? And why is the entire cart seat filled with carrots?_ Emma rounded the fridge and caught up with Ben, the bread swinging by her side. She gently placed her items in the cart, then ran back to the bananas to pick up a whole bundle.

“Typically I buy more than just one for each person. And, just a question, no judgments here, why are there so many carrots in the cart?” Ben looked at his pickings, reaching to take one of the very full bags out. “No, it’s fine, I actually need some for my lunches. Are you a romaine lettuce fan yourself?” She nodded at the choice of lettuce in the cart. At this, Ben gave, what Emma was beginning to notice, his signature slight smile.

“No, I, um, I looked in your fridge before we left. If that was an overstep, I apologize.”

“It’s…fine. Um, let’s just, go this way.” Stepping out of the awkward moment, she led him down another aisle, throwing strawberries, blueberries, and grape tomatoes into the cart. _At least it wasn’t something weird like my closet or side tables in my room._ Lost in thought, she had wandered ahead of Ben, who was stopped admiring the various fruits and pre-made smoothies. When she saw him lagging, she doubled back.

“Hey are you good? Did you want anything?” He looked up at her then gestured to the general area of the store.

“Can you come here anytime you want and still have all of these options?” Emma nodded. “I’m going to try one of these, if that’s alright?” He picked up a mango and held it up for her approval.

“Yeah, no worries, throw it in the cart.” Ben placed it next to the strawberries with care, leaning on his right leg heavily. _Probably time for some Tylenol now, that ibuprofen might be starting to wear off._ “Umm, I’m just going run ahead and grab some stuff around the store that I need. You can peruse the aisles at your own speed, I’ll just find you when I’m done.” Ben looked, a little disappointed if Emma was being honest with herself, but she shoved that straight to the back of her mind.

“Alright, I’ll just… wander then.” Emma gave a curt nod after a slight pause, then turned and flitted through the store, grabbing more cereal, bacon, eggs, and milk. _I maybe should have picked up a basket before I went off by myself. I look like a fool with all this stuff in my arms._ The milk carton was starting to make her skin go numb from the cold as it rested in the crook of her arm. She backtracked, glancing down every aisle for any sign of Ben. She almost walked past the one he was in, stopping in front of the next aisle over. She did a 180 to turn and meet him, but paused before making her way down. Feeling a bit like a spy, she peeked around the jars of pumpkin puree lining the shelves, to see what he was like when he didn’t have to pretend for her.

Ben was knee deep in chips and snacks. Emma watched him take one bag after another, scrutinizing each one. He took special pause with the Doritos and Cheetos bags, shaking them and comparing flavors. _He does look genuinely confused._ The other store patrons attempting to buy pass by were giving him strange looks as he flipped the bags upside down, trying to find the opening. _Maybe he doesn’t actually know what this stuff is._ He put the Cheetos back on the shelf and grabbed the Doritos with both hands, and tightly too, Emma could see the bag starting to feel the effects of too much outside pressure. She started to move toward him, but couldn’t get to him fast enough.

The bag exploded with a large ‘POP’ that sent Cool Ranch chips and seasoning flying in every direction. Ben dropped the plastic remains like a live grenade as he stumbled back out of shock, clearly disrupting the dressing covering his gunshot wound. Emma slammed her groceries in the cart and turned to Ben, back up against the shelves on the opposite end of the aisle.

“You good?” She asked him as he loosened his grip on the metal shelf. “We are making quite the habit of me coming to your rescue, first the woods, next the hospital, now from a chip bag.” She smiled over at him, offering him a hand to help catch his balance as he walked back over the the cart. The look of bewilderment was fading from his face. He accepted Emma’s hand and met her eyes, a smile creeping up on his too. Emma couldn’t help the laughter that was starting to bubble up. A contagious thing, Emma could see Ben trying to suppress his as well, a crowd starting to form to get a glimpse at whatever made the loud noise. The two were laughing too hard to notice.

Once they could breathe again, Emma and Ben made their way to the cashier.

“Looks like that dressing on your injury didn’t last as long as we thought. Can you add one bag of Doritos to this, please? We had a bit of a mishap.” The checker rolled his eyes. “We can change it when we get home.”

“Miss Frost, if it’s not too much of an imposition, would it be alright if I stayed another night? I just need some time to… decide my next move.” _Those blue eyes are way too hard to say no to. They’re going to get me into a lot of trouble, aren’t they?_ Emma tapped her card to pay, mulling over his request.

“Okay, but just one more night, alright? I’m gonna need someone to help me eat these carrots anyway. Come on.” Ben gave her another of his old-timey, chivalrous head nods that Emma would never admit that she liked. The motion fit him so well, that for a second, Emma almost believed time-travel was real.

_A lot of trouble._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey! Next chapter we see Ben learning how Netlfix works and how to run the dishwasher among other fun 21st century things. Plus we will get to see Ben attempting to figure out Emma more, she's got a lot of books around the house and some of them are American history textbooks... Let me know what ya think!


	5. Way Down We Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Netflix, denial, another argument, and some hard to believe answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive! Wow, what an end to a year and what a start to the next. It's been a little crazy over here, been working a lot and struggling to figure out how exactly I wanted this chapter to go, but I think it's a pretty good one. Also, love that this is the first time I’m not posting at 2 AM. Crazy what a good sleep schedule can do for ya lol. I really want to hear what you all think of it so please leave a comment or some kudos! Hope you are all staying safe and healthy. Happy New Year!

Emma was, once again, up in her loft finding Ben an outfit to wear for the day. She didn’t mind him borrowing them. Actually, she was hoping Ben would take them when he left so she wouldn’t have the memories they held in the house anymore. The clothes were just another reminder of Ryan, and the more she thought of them as Ben’s, the less painful they were to look at. Day three post collision and she was feeling more conflicted than ever. _He doesn’t seem to know how to work_ anything. _The grocery store yesterday was so weird too. I just don’t get it._ Emma struggled to find any motivation behind him acting his way into her life as she sorted through shirts and jackets.

She thought back to the previous night when they had gotten home from the store. The elevator ride had gone a lot smoother than the past few times, which was a relief for Emma. And she had to admit, it was nice to have someone to help her carry her groceries again. In fact, he had insisted on carrying at least one of the bags to the point that Emma just gave in.

_“No—look, I’ve got it. You’re injured and I don’t want those stitches opening up. I can do bandages but I’m not trained in doing sutures.”_

_“Miss Frost, I would like to help you carry those bags. A lady should not need to carry heavy items like that.”_ A lady??

_“Okay, I’m flattered you think I’m in any way a lady but really, it’s okay.”_

_“Ma’am I actually insist you give me one of the bags. I’m not letting you pass until you do.” He stood directly in front of her, one hand held out in expectation. Emma had rolled her eyes as she tried to side-step him, all five bags in her hands, but he mirrored her every move. This dance lasted for three more tries by Emma to get past him, with no success. She finally gave in, grinning as she did so._

_“Seriously? You want to carry the bags that badly.”_

_“I really do.”_

_“Okay.” She sounded resigned as she handed over two of the bags to him, the ones that weighed the least. She shut the backseat door and the two of them made their way across the parking lot to the front door of the complex, bags in hand._

Emma straightened up, finished with her sorting, and made a trip down the stairs with the first batch of clothes soon to be consigned to Ben. He was currently in the kitchen, attempting to sort out breakfast. She set the clothes down on the kitchen table.

“How’s it goin’?” Emma asked as she glanced through the opening to the kitchen. They had both slept in again today, and it was looking more towards the brunch/lunch hour. “I’ve got some more clothes for you that you can just take when you head out.” Ben looked over at her for a moment, a mixture of uncertainty and disappointment flitting across his face.

“It’s not ‘going’. I can’t figure out how you turn this on. The knob will turn, but no heat.” He gestured towards the stove as Emma rounded the counter to see what he was talking about.

“Well, it’s a gas stove so you have to light it, like this.” She reached in front of him and flipped the knob, waiting for the click of the pilot light, the burner finally lighting up blue and orange. “Have an electric stove.”

“…Right.” They stood side by side for a moment. Emma ran a hand through her hair. “Well, we should probably start figuring out your next plans, yes?” Ben gave a reluctant nod. “Want to put something on while we do some research?” He turned towards her, breakfast forgotten about. Emma reached past him again to turn the burner off, opting for a banana instead of whatever Ben had in mind to cook.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

Emma grabbed her laptop and sat on the far side of the couch, reaching for the remote on the coffee table in front of her. Ben slowly made his way over, hovering over the empty space next to her. She clicked the ‘on’ button, and flipped over to Netflix before sitting back to dig into her laptop and a show. Emma glanced over at Ben to see him staring in wonder at the lit up screen, the latest trailer for a Christmas movie released early dancing across the screen.

“You can sit down if you want.” He looked over at her words and slowly took his seat next to her. “What are you in the mood for?”

“I’m not sure. I have not watched, what did you call it, Netflix, before.”

“Umm, we can watch a comedy, action, a tv show…” Emma flipped through the different genre sections, skipping over the historical section without any hesitation. _Don’t want to get into that right now._ “Here, you can pick.” She offered him the remote, which he tentatively took. He played around with the buttons, the screen struggling to keep up with the speed at which he was pressing them.

“This is…” he jumped through the categories with fascination. “This is incredible!” Emma glanced up at the screen, the titles flying by faster than she could read.  
“Yeah I love Netflix, but they need to add some new stuff. I get sick of seeing the same movies over and over.” She turned back to her laptop, her browser focused on finding the fastest bus route out of Philadelphia. “Okay, where did you need to get to in Connecticut?” The titles slowed down on the screen as Ben answered.

“…Newfield Harbor. What about this one?” Emma looked up from typing and saw the familiar scrawl of How to Get Away with Murder.

“You haven’t seen this? It’s a good one go for it!” Ben looked down at the remote and over to Emma now sitting criss-crossed facing him, her back leaning up against the armrest.

“Um, how do I do that?” Taking a deep breath, Emma continued to look for a bus route. Nothing was coming up for Newfield Harbor.

“Just press the center button.” The familiar sound of the ABC logo resounded through the loft, startling Ben briefly, making Emma smirk behind the shield the laptop screen gave her.

“Hey Ben, I’m not seeing a Newfield Harbor as a bus stop but I can get you close with Bridgeport is that okay?”

“That would be great. Thank you.”

——————————————————————————————————————————

The show played on as Emma searched for places and routes to get to Connecticut in one tab, flipping to another to continue the search she had started yesterday morning. They had gotten through an half of the first season already, Ben completely engrossed in the Philadelphian saga.

“Okay there’s a bus route that will get you there in two days that’s not too expensive. You might have to stay in a hotel over night, but it’s a good deal that will get you to Bridgeport.” Emma looked up at her guest, still absorbed in the latest drama by the team of hopeful lawyers. “Ben? Did you hear me?”

“What? Oh, yes that would be wonderful thank you. Sorry.” He looked over at her, a small smile playing on his face. Emma returned it as she made to book the tickets.

“No problem. I’ll also see if my friend Jenn still has her old iPhone. Hopefully she won’t mind giving it to you so you can get at your reservations and stuff on the road.”

“Thank you, that would be much appreciated.” His tone was getting more clipped with every mention of his leaving. _Why doesn’t he just want to go home? What is so_ pressing _about Philly that he wants to stay?_ Emma glanced over at him before unlocking her phone and clicking on her text conversation with her best friend from college, Jenn.

Emma: Hey girlie! Do you still have your old phone? You are going to think I am completely insane, but there’s a guy staying at my place and he lost his.

She hit send and immediately sent another text after.

Emma: Do NOT tell my mom about this. And please don’t laugh at me.

Emma didn’t have to wait long to see the little bubbles pop up on her screen. _Here we go._

Jenn: You did WHAT??? Who is this guy? Is he cute??

Emma: I really don’t want to get into it right now lol. I’ll tell you about it later. The phone?

Jenn: OMG, I need a full run-down of how you met this guy. Are you okay? Do you need me to call anyone?

Emma: I’m fine! And it is quite the story, we will need at least two glasses of wine before I even start haha. :)

Jenn: I can’t WAIT! And yes, I do have the phone still! I tried to turn it in, but it’s not worth anything. You can just buy me a drink the next time we go out as payback.

Emma grinned as she read the message. She was remembering the last time they went out for a quick drink. It had ended in some poorly sung karaoke and a lot of Advil the next morning.

Emma: Okay deal. Oh! If Al has some clothes he might want to get rid of, this guy would probably needs some too.

Jenn: Well, I don’t know if he wants to get rid of his old sweaters from last year, but I do. I’ll bring them over lol. Be there in fifteen!

Emma: Thank you!

She put her phone back down on the table, and sat back, joining Ben in yet another episode.

“Well, I’ve got you a phone, and your ticket is booked. I’ll give you some extra money for food or to help with the hotel. Bus leaves at seven thirty tonight.” She glanced over at Ben, but all she received was a sharp nod. _Okay, back to the awkward binge session it is._

——————————————————————————————————————————

About half an hour later, Emma’s phone rattled against the coffee table as Jenn’s name lit up the screen. Emma clicked the text notification.

Jenn: I’m outside!

With a huff of exertion from sitting too long, Emma stood and stretched, pocketing her phone.

“My friend is here with some stuff, I’ll be right back.” She was met with another curt nod from Ben as she walked in front of the tv to the door. She gave one glance back into the living room, her guest sitting tensely in his seat, eyes stiffly trained to the front, before heading down the hallway to the elevator, the door swinging shut behind her.

_God, this elevator takes forever._ Emma tapped her foot on the floor in annoyance as the car slowly brought her down to the ground floor. With a final lurch of the cables, the car came to a stop, its passenger rushing out of the doors. She rounded the corner, seeing the familiar maroon of her friend’s Camry waiting in the lot.

“Hey Jenn! Thanks for doing this, I really appreciate it.” Jenn was waiting patiently by her car still idling in the background. A large grin broke out onto both girls’ faces as they embraced.

“No prob! Here ya go.” She handed Emma a large bag filled with coats and snacks and an old iPhone. “There’s a charger in there as well, if he needs it. I really would like to meet your mysterious guest though.” Jenn wiggled her eyebrows and pursed her lips. Emma looked towards the asphalt, chuckling nervously.

“Hah! No. Way. This is definitely going in the ‘Emma’s stupid decisions’ book, though.”

“Yeah, this entry will go right after our attempt to take on drunk Elvis and Johnny Cash in Old City in February.” Both women broke out into a fit of giggles on the memory.

“Oh we could have won that fight.” Jenn pushed a her flaxen hair behind her ears as she caught her breath.

“No, _you_ could have won that fight. I was too drunk to do more than moral support.”

“That’s probably true.” Emma smiled. “Want to cash in your thank you drink next Saturday? I work this weekend.”

“I would love to! Want to bring the rest of the gang?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Jenn stepped back and opened her car door, sliding into the driver’s seat.

“See ya then! Good luck with your mystery boy.” They both smiled as she shut the door, Jenn suggestively wiggling her brows again. Emma stepped back as her friend turned the car around. As she started her drive back out to the street Jenn rolled down her window. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Emma laughed as she waved.

“That’s not saying much!” She shoutedafter the receding car. Emma waited a moment longer before turning back into the lobby and to the conundrum waiting for her in her living room.

With a final ‘ding,” the elevator doors opened, revealing the familiar hallway back to her place. Emma walked down wooden floors, her footsteps echoing off of the high ceilings, until she reached number 455, and pushed the door open.

Ben was still sitting on the couch, barely looking her way when she entered the door and locked it behind her. She set the bag near the coat closet, and started for her room.

"I got the phone and Jenn was able to spare some extra coats too, so you should be set for the weather up in CT.” Ben made to get up, looking nervous, as she pushed past her bedroom curtain.

When she had left the room this morning, it was neat, tidy, the bed was made, everything just where she had organized it months ago. What she walked into now, was a mess. The books were askew when they should have been straight, her bed looked as though it had been hastily put back together, the pillows ruffled and the duvet left uneven and wrinkled in places it shouldn’t have been. The closet door was open two inches more than she left it that morning, and she could see, in that space, that most of the clothes had fallen off of the hangar as if something had disturbed them in a hurry.

Someone had been busy while she was gone.

“You went _through my stuff??”_ Emma was enraged. She whirled around and shoved the curtain out her way. Ben was standing defensively behind the kitchen table.

“I had to know what I was dealing with. You certainly weren’t being helpful.”

“Being helpful? I literally let you into my home, for longer than I should have, I might add. I was willing to _foot you nearly 200 dollars,_ to get you to a home that might not even exist.”

“All of my questions and inquiries were met with half-quipped remarks or sarcasm. I needed information, and as I cannot use your _instruments_ ,” he gestured at the array of technology littered around the room, “I had to use what was available to me.”

“So you went through my stuff?? This, this is all private! _You_ are a stranger, and I—God, I _knew_ this was a bad idea.” Emma put her hand on her forehead, pacing in front of the entrance to her room. _My mom is gonna kill me if this guy murders me._ Ben shook his head in frustration and crossed the room, taking her arm.

“Look, Emma—“

At his touch, Emma lurched back, dislodging his grip.

“Don’t.” Blue eyes met blue in a hard stare. Ben’s expression resembled what one would use when approaching a cornered animal, and, in truth, Emma felt like one.

“Miss Frost, I meant no offense, but I needed answers.”

“What answers?! What other possible information could you need?!”

“ _How I got here_. As I am obviously not from this era, the question is how do I get home.” Emma had her hands up in a defensive stance, with the knowledge that she had no idea how she was going to fend Ben off if he decided to actually attack her. _I would have won that fight, huh?_

 _“Get out.”_ Ben held his stare then slowly started to shake his head.

“Miss Frost, I—“

“No, you need to leave. Now.” Emma took a small step back and Ben had the good sense not to mirror her movements. _Just three more steps backwards and you can reach the door._

“Miss Frost.” He took a breath. “You know, just as well as I do, that no one else will believe me. I don’t have anywhere else to go. I’d like to explain, can we sit?” He gestured over to the kitchen table beside him.

Emma didn’t know what to do. Her eyes flicked around the room, to the table, to the batin the hallway across from her, to Ben. He waited for her answer in silence, his face remaining a perfectly blank slate. In his eyes though, Emma thought she could see just a hint of desperation, and in that, a wisp of the truth.

“Fine. You have 10 minutes.” She could see Ben exhale in relief, a brief smile flitting across his face. He backed away from her as he moved towards his customary seat at the far side of the table, Emma following cautiously. She reached over and grabbed the bat, even though it was more for her own sense of security than an actual defense. Ben had already sat down and as Emma stepped closer to the table, he motioned for her to do the same. Emma, however, set herself firmly behind her chair, another barrier between them.

“Okay, talk.”

“Don’t you want to sit down?”

“I’m fine right where I am.” Ben huffed out a breath and shook his head.

“Fine. What do you want to know.” Emma was incredulous. _What don’t I want to know?_

“What do I want to know? Everything! Who are you, really?”

“I’m exactly who I told you I am. Can we move past that now?”

“I’m sorry but no. You are, like, _weirdly_ good at impersonating the whole Continental soldier thing, but I’m pretty sure you just looked up some random person in the war and ran with it. And you already lied to me about your name, you could be lying about everything else too; what do you expect me to do??” Ben sat back in his chair, listening to Emma as her short fuse ran out. His head was, to Emma’s dismay, still cocked forward, blue eyes looking up at her, his patience running out as well.

“I apologize for lying to you about my name the other day, but I had to. I did not know if I could trust you either—“

“You literally put me as your emergency contact!” Emma was gripping the back of the chair so hard her knuckles had turned white.

“And you came to get me and let me stay on your chaise! Miss Frost, I understand your anger. Please let me try to explain myself.” He gestured for her to sit, and after hesitating for a moment, she slowly circled back around her chair. “First, may I ask what you meant by ‘looking up?’”

“Umm, google? Like on the internet?” Emma had pulled her phone out of her pocket under the table just in case she had to call for help. Ben shook his head, obviously not understanding her meaning. She fiddled with the phone in her hands, flipping it over and over as she decided what to do next. “Nevermind. You need to tell me the truth. Convince me you are who you say you are.”

“I told you, my name is Benjamin Tallmadge, I am a Continental officer. I was a captain of light dragoons under General Scott. Look, if what you are saying is true, and you can find information on this…internet, I am not really sure what to say to convince you.” _I mean, he’s right._ Emma and Ben stared hard at each other, until she slouched against the back of the chair, frustrated and tired.

“Okay, I don’t know— I’ll tell you something about me that I don’t tell many people and you tell me something that you haven’t told anyone. Easier for you honestly, if you really are from the that era, I’m not heading back in time, so you don’t have to worry about me screwing anything up. I mean it has to be something I can verify, obviously, but… what do you think?” Ben mulled it over for a moment. The clock ticking in the background started to feel more like the jeopardy theme song than the comforting white noise it usually was to her.

“Okay, I can agree to that.” He matched her position in his chair, his eyes level with hers. “You can go first.” Emma nodded. She tried to think of something that could be verified with moderate ease. This felt like playing a very short game of Russian roulette: two chambers, one bullet. If she trusted him with something that could backfire on her, well, Emma wasn’t sure she liked her odds. 50/50 was high stakes for her.

“Um…” Ben was patiently waiting for her to answer, she knew he could see that she was fidgety, not a great look when you are trying to bridge an, allegedly, 200 plus year gap. _I’ll just tell him about six months ago._ “Okay, remember when I said I wasn’t married?… I actually… I was engaged. He ended it. Over a text message. He didn’t want his stuff back, just told me he didn’t want to see me again.” She paused to steady herself. “I, uh, I still have the ring. He just, he said to sell it if I wanted…but I haven’t yet. I haven’t heard from him since.” _Barring the one picture of them at the Shore._ She finally garnered up the courage to look up at her guest, and found that the hard stare she had been on the receiving end of earlier had melted into one of, well not quite pity, but sincerity. “I can show you the texts, or the ring, if you want proof.”

“That’s not necessary. I’m… I’m very sorry about him. I have only known you for a few days, but I know you do not deserve that.” Emma didn’t know how to respond to that so she just nodded her head as she broke their gaze, blinking forcefully to dispel the tears threatening to make themselvesvisible.

“Your turn.” He stiffened just slightly at this. Similar to Emma, he took a moment to think, leaving Emma in suspense, her heart rate rising just a bit. He moved forward, repositioning himself on the chair, taking a sharp breath.

“Right.” He paused. “I need something to write with and on. And my coat.” It was Emma’s turn to furrow her brows in confusion, but stood got the things he asked for. She set them down in front of him and was going to head back to her chair across from him when he stopped her, his hand lightly resting on her arm. “You’ll need to sit closer to see this.” She bit her lip, but pulled her chair around the table so that she was seated directly next to him.

He set up his workspace, pen and paper in front of him, before he reached into his inside coat pocket and pulled out a small set of tiny vials, two mini paintbrushes paired with each. “I said I used to work under General Scott as a captain. Last year, I was promoted to Major by General Washington.” Emma eyes widened. _Promoted by the big G.W. himself? Alright._ Ben was busy writing on the paper in latin, just random words and phrases: _carpe diem, et tu Brute, ab uno disce onmes, etc.,_ careful to leave a space in between each line, but not so significant as to be noticed by someone just glancing at the page. “I was promoted to Major, because a captain… cannot be head of Intelligence. I work directly under Washington with a man called Nathaniel Sackett. We developed this as a way to send messages between, well, between special individuals dedicated to the cause.” _Oh geez, is this what the Culper Ring thing is about? Seriously, what did I get myself into._

“You mean, like…spies?” Ben paused in his writing and took a deep breath.

“Exactly.” Emma covered her mouth with her hand, absorbing what he was saying. Ben had returned to work, focused on what he was painting with one of the vials, but she could tell he was also trying to gauge her reaction. “This is a solution to encrypt the message with. And this, “ he explained, switching to the other vial and brush, “is how the receiving agent can see the message. I was on my way to deliver this to one of my agents, Culper, when I was ambushed and came here.” Ben painted with the second, green-ish liquid over the empty spaces between the visible ink. The pair glanced at each other, each nervous at the outcome of the process. When Emma looked back at the sheet of paper in front of them, five words existed that weren’t there a moment before: _Do you trust me now?_

Her breath caught in her throat as she took in what just happened. Ben looked to his right, where Emma was sitting in shock, not moving. She slowly took her hand away from her mouth, but kept her eyes on the page, and nodded almost imperceptibly.

“Mm-hmm.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Emma is finally a believer! The two of them have a lot of work cut out for them to figure out how to get Ben back to his time, if that's even possible. Can't wait to introduce Ben to what a night out on the town looks like in the 21st century. Stay tuned! :)


	6. Soldier, Poet, King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that they are both on the same page, Emma and Ben try to find a new working relationship as they figure out their next move. Emma is both excited and worried about how time travel and her house guest fit in to her life. She can only assume that Ben wants to get back to his time, but there are a few million questions to answer before he can. For example: how?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter has been a long time coming! I would have liked to have posted this sooner, but you know how life is! Once again, excited to hear your reactions to this chapter. Emma and Ben certainly have a lot of ground to cover post the last addition.

_Okay, okay, okay._ Ben was looking over at her, waiting for her reaction, but Emma couldn’t turn away from the paper on the table in front of her.

“Okay, so this… stuff, with your agents, it actually works?”  
“Well, we have not actually had the chance to test it with our agent yet, but according to our source it has been effective for well over three years.These two vials took us months to make.” Emma turned towards Ben, meeting his apprehensive stare. She repositioned her chair slightly to face him, still attempting to wrap her head around it all.

“What if it doesn’t? The message could still be read by anyone who figures it out.”  
“Well, not exactly. We have been using a cipher code since we officially began the intelligence front. Sackett and I wrote it.” Emma nodded along with his explanation.

“So have you guys been successful with any missions yet? I mean, I’m assuming so based on the cipher you worked out, but I’m so curious. Not gonna lie, I’ve had this obss—deep interest in the revolution since I was little, and to be honest, talking with someone who, like, _was in it_ is kind of _wild_ for me. Sorry, it’s a lot to take in. Just, like, the magnitude of what actual time travel means is massive.” Emma finished her word vomit, still holding breath back in her lungs as if she wanted to say more, but her brain couldn’t form the words fast enough. She placed her hands on her cheeks as she sat back in her chair, letting herself deflate. She turned to look over at Ben, a bit embarrassed.

Ben, however, looked more relieved than he had since Emma had first let him spend the night.

“No, no it’s alright. I am just happy you actually believe me.” He reorganized the vials and brushes and placed them back into their original place in his jacket, in a pocket not easily visible to the average passerby. “I feel as though I owe you yet another apology for searching through your things. I haven’t exactly given you a lot of reasons to trust me, and my actions earlier probably didn’t help.” He turned to look at Emma, setting his jacket carefully folded on the stairs behind him. She let her hands fall into her lap, pausing for a moment before using her shoulder to push forward so she was sitting upright.

“Thank you for your apology. Let’s just ask next time you need something though.” Emma’s mouth quirked up in a small smile which Ben returned without hesitation.

“Of course.”

The sun had officially set, casting the room in the dulling orange of a fall evening. The casual change in light from bright to dusk was accelerated this time in October, and it was this dim that reminded Emma that they really hadn’t eaten that day. Well, that and the fact that her stomach started to growl. Loudly.

“Oh my gosh I am so sorry!” She covered her stomach with her hands as if that would stop it from growling, laughing as the odd moment broke the tension in the room. “Guess we should get some food, unless you still want to head to Connecticut?” _I don’t know which I would be more happy about, if he stayed or if he did end up leaving._ Emma looked back over at Ben, who’s face had started to have shadows of caution creeping back onto his expression.

“I don’t mean to be an imposition, and I know I have most likely overstayed my welcome… but I would like to stay — if that is okay with you of course, Miss Frost.”

It was Emma’s turn to be relieved, and she was surprised by the enormity of the feeling. Despite her best efforts, the smile was starting to creep back up onto her face.

“Well… uh, yeah. Sure.” The two sat in silence for a moment. “Let’s go grab some dinner; I just have to cancel your ticket.” She made to get up out of her chair to grab her laptop still sitting where she had put it before her trip downstairs, Ben hastily standing as she did so. He held out a hand to help her out of her seat, one that she hesitantly took.

“Thanks.” She turned towards her laptop, away from Ben, letting her hand drop from his as she made her way to the coffee table. Emma felt flushed as she logged in and canceled the ticket, luckily getting a full refund. “Okay, that’s done.” She closed the computer with a snap and stood again, brushing her hands on her jeans. “I’m kind of sick of eating in, and I think a little fresh air could do us good. Want to head down to Main Street to grab a bite?”

“I would like that, very much.” Emma nodded and walked over to the coats by the front door. She tossed him the jacket she had given him the day before before sliding on her shoes and putting a jacket on herself. As she opened the door, she turned back to look at Ben, close behind her.

“By the way, you don’t have to call me ‘Miss Frost,’ Emma’s just fine.” The pair stepped out into the hallway, and Emma turned to lock the apartment door behind them.

“Emma.” She looked over at Ben. _Is it sad that I like the way my name sounds when he says it?_ He bowed his head slightly as Emma came to stand at his side, the old floorboards creaking under her steps. He offered her his arm, no doubt a reflex from his time. She stared at it for a moment, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“Oh, um, we don’t really do that any more.”

“Oh.” Ben slowly let his arm rest back at his side awkwardly. Emma stepped forward towards the elevators, but turned slightly so he was still in view.

“Gotta teach a spy how to blend in?” She shot him a quirked eyebrow and smart smirk to lighten the mood, which earned a snort from Ben.

“Point noted. After you.” He gestured down the hall and Emma turned on her heel to lead the way.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two navigated their way through the parking lot and onto the sidewalk on their way to Main Street.

“Let’s turn here.” Emma stepped to the left down a narrow side street, Ben adjusting his course after her. “I like to take this way instead of the main road. Less cars and less people.”

“I thought we were headed to main street?”

“Oh, we are. I meant Leverington,” Emma smiled and pointed back towards the road and the noise of passing cars behind them now. “This way is definitely more pedestrian friendly.” They fell comfortably in step with each other, Emma with her hands casually shoved into her jacket pockets, Ben with his proper posture and confident stride. Emma inhaled the cool evening air, the streetlights casting a glow on the broken and cracked pavement obviously repaired time and time again, yet still needing to be fixed. She angled herself towards Ben as they walked, desperate to know more but not wanting to show it.

“So this code book, do you have it with you? Actually, that’s stupid, you wouldn’t carry that around in case you were caught. Sorry, stupid question.” Ben smiled.

“You’re right, I don’t carry it on me. It’s back at our camp under supervision while I’m away. Although, I have to admit, it is a little strange thinking that ‘back at camp’ means something a bit different now.” Emma faced forward again as they rounded another corner.

“Yeah, that’s gotta be weird.” She was silent for a moment as a sudden realization hit her. “Oh my God,you must have so many questions. What can I answer for you?” She took a hand out of one of her pockets and touched his shoulder lightly, signaling for him to stop as they came to an intersection. He mimicked her movements as she looked left, right, and left again, before the pair stepped out to cross the street momentarily devoid of cars. They hurried across the road, and Emma felt the shadow of his hand on her back as they did.Two right feet stepped up onto the sidewalk and the shadow was gone.

“If you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. Go for it.” Emma waited for his first question, dodging trash cans and debris as they continued towards dinner. She looked over just as he was forming his first question.

“When did we win? _How_ did we win?”

Emma was about to word vomit again, her years of research about to spill over her lips. She would have done it too, if she hadn’t accidentally bit the inside of her cheek from misjudging how far down the street was as they walked down the decline to main street. Emma’s hand shot up in reflex to the pain, and the momentary pause allowed her to actually think about what she was about to do. _Emma, babe, you’ve seen enough movies and read enough books to know that actions have meanings, especially with time travel. You don’t want to butterfly effect your way into changing history._ She lowered her hand slowly as she let out her breath.. _You can’t tell him anything about the war._

She paused and fully turned towards Ben. Her hands nervously clenched into fists at her sides, as she prepared to answer his question in a less than satisfying way. Emma could see Ben noticing the fidgeting, and watched as his expression became infinitesimally more clouded.

“Ben… I can’t tell you that. I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to tell you stuff that could change what happened. It’s too risky.” At this, Ben’s eyebrows knitted together as his head cocked in an unnervingly good impression of a beagle.

“I don’t understand. How could that change the outcome of the war? If anything, we could make it end sooner, save countless lives.”

Emma sucked in a breath and looked away from him for a moment. She could feel herself getting colder, but whether the chill was from the night growing later, or from his stare she couldn’t decide.

“Or it could change a decision the British made and turn the revolution into a failure. I won’t jeopardize our win. I’m sorry. I will answer any of your questions but the ones about that.” He was obviously dissatisfied with her response. He momentarily placed his hand on his head in frustration, and Emma was shocked with how familiar that movement was. She could see the gears turning in his head as her words took hold. When he looked back at her, he looked resigned. Emma got the feeling, however, that this would not be the last time the subject was discussed.

“Fine. Fine. Let’s keep walking.” This time, Ben took the lead. Emma placed her hands back into her pockets and walked after him.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What do you feel like tonight?” Emma asked as they turned to the left and stepped out onto Main Street. She looked at Ben on her right and couldn’t help the grin that crept up on her face as she watched her guest take in the lights and hustle and bustle of the food capital of Philadelphia. She stopped walking, letting him take it all in. _God I can’t wait to show him Center City._ Emma imagined his reaction to the skyscrapers, the food, the people. She mentally shook away the idea and watched as Ben do the same, lost in his own train of thought.

“Oh, um, I-I think I am okay with whatever you choose.”

“Winnie’s it is. They have really good food, and we can stop on the way back for some Insomnia.” Emma gestured to the store on the corner, the scent of freshly baked cookies wafting out of the door. “Come on, it’s this way.” She nodded her head in the direction of the restaurant. Once Ben dragged his eyes away from the bustling downtown, they crossed the road and made their way to the steps of the eatery.

“For two please.” Emma smiled at the hostess at the door as she shrugged the coat off of her shoulders. She heard the door close behind her as Ben appeared at her side.

“Right this way.” The hostess snagged two menus and gestured to her left. Ben and Emma followed her to a window seat overlooking the unusually bustling street. Thursday night in Manayunk was busier than usual this evening, and Emma could tell that Ben was hypnotized with every new discovery. Ben darted behind Emma and pulled out her chair, Emma mumbling a quick ‘thank you’ to him as she sat. She hated the knowing smile firmly planted on the hostess’ face. _It’s not like that, I promise. You don’t even know._

Ben sat down in his chair across from her, and as soon as she saw both customers seated, the hostess placed the menus down and sashayed away from the table.

“So you can just order whatever you want tonight. You’ve had a bit of a rough go of it and you have about 200 years of culinary catching up to do.” Emma flashed a quick smile over at Ben as she opened her menu. “But we are getting the cornbread and the fried pickles because I am obsessed with them.”

“Fried pickles?”

“I know it sounds weird, but they are delicious! You can’t go wrong with fried food.” _Well, if you know how to._ A vivid memory of her uncle attempting to deep fry a frozen turkey because it would “be faster than waiting for it to thaw,” sprung up in her mind. She peeked over top of her menu, pushing the disaster Thanksgiving aside. Ben had one hand holding his open menu, but he was distracted by the people watching on the street. Groups of girlfriends were out for a drink post-work, couples roamed on both sides of the street, arms interlocked, and a group of guys came tumbling out of a bar laughing in a drunken stupor. It might not be Center City, but the neighborhood Emma called home was adowntown in itself. 

“Hey! I’m Charlie and I’ll be taking care of you tonight. What can I get for ya today?” The waiter had arrived at the table, and Ben turned around so quickly he almost fell out of his chair. Charlie looked mildly amused as he turned to face Emma, pen and pad in hand.

“I’ll take an iced tea, and can we get the cornbread and fried pickles please?”

“Sure thing. And for you, sir?” Ben had quickly composed himself during Emma’s order and now looked sufficiently like a soldier again: perfect posture, unreadable features.

“What she said.”

“Are you ready to order or do you need a few minutes?” Emma looked across the table as Ben frantically searched the menu.

“Maybe just a few minutes would be good. Thanks!” Charlie nodded and headed back to the kitchen to get their appetizers started. Clearing her throat, Emma rested her arms on the table, lacing her fingers together. Ben looked up from his search.

“So... what do you want to know?”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So you are saying … that we have been to the moon?” Emma smiled widely, and reached for her third refill of her tea.

“Yes! Well, there is some controversy about that, actually. There’s this conspiracy that it was filmed in a studio in California, which to me is ridiculous. But regardless, we have been up in space a ton.” She took a sip as Ben glanced outside at the sky, searching for a glimpse at the moon. Plates were scattered everywhere. They had ended up ordering two dishes each, and Emma felt like she was going to burst at the seams, but Ben had continued on, shoving food in his mouth as politely as he could.

“You are probably getting tired of all of my questions, but what does filmed mean?”

“Oh, you know, like the show you were watching earlier. They don’t actually use film now to make movies and shows and stuff, but we call it filming because they used to use a very thin paper to capture pictures.” Ben was nodding his head along, but Emma could tell a follow-up question was on it’s way. “Um pictures are similar to paintings, except they capture a real life image. Umm, let me show you.”

She whipped out her phone from her purse and opened the camera function. Setting it to the screen camera, she raised the phone to capture a photo of her and Ben. He had a blank look on his face in the screen, waiting for whatever was going to happen to happen.

“Smile!” She clicked the shutter button a few times before lowering her arm and pulling up the pictures. Emma leaned in towards the table as she reached over the hoard of plates to show Ben the picture. He mirrored her movement and peered at the image on the screen.

“May I?” Ben gestured to the phone and Emma nodded for him to take it from her hands. He poured over the image with delight.

“Here, you can zoom in too, like this.” She took the phone back for a moment and showed him how to work the screen. Ben scrolled over the pictures until Emma got worried he had figured out google. She reached for the phone and Ben hesitantly gave it back.

“That is amazing. You can see exactly the likeness of the person in the frame. What else can it do?”

“It can do a lot, actually! It can play music, I can watch movies, read books, umm, I can call and text people—like sending letters but instantaneously,” She anticipated his question on texting as his brows began to knit themselves together. “Lots of other things too. We still have the phone for you that Jenn gave us. I’ll charge it and teach you how to use it when we get home!” _Yeah, right after I delete safari and google, and any other app that can be used as a search engine._ “That way if you need something while I’m at work this weekend, you can text me.”

“That would be great, thank you Emma. Wait, you work on the weekend?” He leaned over the table, mimicking Emma’s position.

“Yeah, unfortunately the hospital can’t take care of itself over the weekend.” She flashed him a smile. “Just kidding, I actually kind of like working them, way less crazy than during the week because we try to get the kids home.” Ben was just about to ask something else, but Charlie had come back over, clearly wanting them to leave so they could seat another couple.

“Just about ready for the check folks?” Emma looked over at Ben, who nodded.

“Yes please, and if we could get some boxes for these that would be great!” Charlie looked a bit disgruntled at the notion of packaging up their food but still flashed the pair the customer service smile Emma knew all too well.

“No problem, be right back.” Emma turned back towards Ben.

“Okay, let’s grab some of those cookies from that other place on the way home. I can’t wait to see what you think of them! Plus, I really think the sugar is going to give us a brain boost we are definitely going to need to figure out how we are going to solve this.” Charlie came back with some boxes and the check, leaving Emma and Ben to scrape what they wanted into the containers to take home.

“Solve this?”

“Yeah, how to get you home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to get to work for those two!! Emma has a lot on her plate, and juggling them may prove to be a bit of a struggle. Ben gets to explore a bit of the "new" Philly in the next chapter, so stay tuned for some ice cream, some booze, and a lot of Emma playing keep away with spoilers from Ben. Please let me know what you think! :) 
> 
> P.S. It snowed a TON in Philly over the past few weeks so hope if you are in the area or got hit with some weather that you are staying safe!


End file.
